Florida - "My First Flight", Lakewood Ranch

This was what the nest looked like in 2009, three generations ago, when I first started following this pair of bald eagles. Each of the past three years the female successfully produced two chicks and six eaglets have become adults. The male was accidentally electrocuted last year at a nearby power transformer. However, life goes on, following the arrival of the new "dad", two new chicks were hatched in 2011 and fledged on 4/23.

Construction went on for weeks in 2009

One of the two chicks in 2009 out in the limb testing his wings in flying.

Nest repair in 2009

Wow, no looking back now, I have made it!

Look out!!

Wheee! Close call, almost dived into my brother!

However, the nest collapsed partially on Monday 4/18, more on 4/21, and almost totally gone on Friday 4/22/2011, endangering the two chicks who have not fledged. A strong gusty wind could blow the two chicks off the tree to the ground causing injury or worse!

Meanwhile, the second chick, who managed to hop to a branch 100 feet away from the nest was apparently in distress, seemingly afraid to fly back to join the other chick and "dad" by the nest. Apparently waiting for a head wind to pick up before taking off flying as she has learned when practicing in the nest.

Yes, in the day's morning sun, then wind comes.

Wind anywhere? Still feeling around in the perch...

Is there wind yet?

As they say, the rest is history! :-) :-) As an afterword, besides myself there were three other photographers plus an onlooker present in witnessing the scene. When the chick took to the air, everbody was holding their breadth. As the chick finally landed safely back to the nesting tree, applause broke out. In the excitement, Mike forgot to shoot his camera and missed the whole scene with no images to show, Ursula went to her car and took out the cheese cake she bought earlier in her favorite native German bakery to share with everybody. Our onlooker (Jane?) was jumping up and down with joy and gave everybody a hug. Gwen kept her cool and was busy shooting like the rest of us. Well I thought it would be nice to capture a scene of the moment for the group as something to remember, so I swang my camera around and the last picture is the result. I focused at the trees a thousand feet away with a telephoto lens! What a scene!

Around 10 AM on 4/22/2011, the male was bringing back a fish to the collapsed nest. Can't see the fish? Wait. You will have a better look of it later.

One chick in the branch comes over to feed.